Thomas Andre and Colombe Julia have won the Offshore Double Handed World Championship for France, sealing the title with a final race that stayed in doubt until the very last miles.
Sailing as FRA01, the pair crossed the finish line of the 190-nautical-mile decider at 12:20:26 on Friday 2 October, just over two days after the start. The closing hours were sailed in light, patchy wind that kept shuffling the lead between four different boats.
Annie Stevenson and Peter Winter of Australia, who had actually been in front on the final morning, finished second. Jonas Gerckens and Djemila Tassin of Belgium rounded out the podium.
Andre and Julia both race on the Figaro circuit these days, but their partnership goes back to the 470 class. Being able to swap seamlessly between helm and crew got them through conditions that ranged from strong winds and big seas to near dead calm.
"It was so intense," said Andre. "Every time there was always something happening. Upwind we were tacking every 10 to 15 minutes. We managed to take every lift from every headland. Then when it went light, Australia squeezed past us. They were fast."
"We thought that there would be no wind by the mountains, but there was wind and for Australia it was a shorter distance. Once we were back together, we knew we could match them."
The race began at 11:30 on Wednesday 30 September in a 15-knot south-easterly. Christine Walta and Simeon Tienpont of the Netherlands led across the start line, while Federico Waksman and Irina Gracheva of Uruguay nailed their start and were first to the offset mark, 1.2 nautical miles upwind, with the Dutch and French close behind.
Then came Île Maïre. The headland funnels gusts through the gap to the mainland, and boats were knocked flat as they passed through. Uruguay still led at that point, with France moving into second ahead of the Dutch boat.
Beyond the shelter of the bay the sea built fast, and with 20 knots over the deck the fleet began the long beat to Cannes. By late afternoon France had the lead, Uruguay second, and that order largely held overnight and into the next day.
Belgium was the mover on the beat, climbing from 10th at Île Maïre to third by Cannes. Australia came through to fourth.
Positions settled for much of the 90-mile run home, France out front, Uruguay and Belgium trading second and third behind them. Then Australia found a shift. Staying close to shore on the final morning, Stevenson and Winter found stronger breeze and took the lead.
From Planier Lighthouse in, any of the top four could still have won it. France went right, towards the mainland shore, found more breeze under the cliffs, and retook the lead for good.
Australia held on for second. Third place went to a photo finish, Belgium beating Uruguay by just eight seconds across the line. A time penalty against the Uruguayans then promoted the Dutch, only 52 seconds further back, into fourth.
Back at the dock it was champagne and salt-stained kit peeled off in the sun, smiles all round after two days of racing that had refused to settle until the final headland.
The prizes were presented by Corinne Migraine, Vice-President of World Sailing, Patrice Simon-Letertre, President of the Yacht Club de France, and Frank Recoing, President of CNTL.
